Trenton keeps payment for summer recreation programs on hold

Martin Griff / The TimesTrenton business administrator Sam Hutchinson said the city will continue to hold off on paying local vendors for summer recreation programs until the city receives more information about the camps and programs they provided. Hutchinson is shown here at Mayor Tony Mack's biennial review on June 12.

Speaking before a special executive session of council, Hutchinson said he has yet to be provided with personal service agreements, contracts or any other documents that show the city agreed to pay organizations and individuals for summer camps and other sports programs.

"There is no question in my mind that some of these activities were carried out, no question," Hutchinson said. "But from an accountability standpoint how do I know what I'm paying for if I don't know what was ordered and who ordered it? I need documentation that says this is what the city authorized or ordered or expected and this is what we agreed to pay."

Ten vendors, including Trenton Central High basketball coach and former NBA player Greg Grant, attended a meeting yesterday to complain about the city's nonpayment and ask when they would get paid. Grant's sister, Tonya Grant, ran two programs this summer, including a middle school girl's basketball league, that wrapped up Aug. 18. She said the city still owes her $5,360 for the summer programming.

Hutchinson said he and the city's law department have talked about requiring program operators to make sworn affidavits explaining the programs they ran, which would allow the city to move forward with paying them. Only two or three are still awaiting payment, he said.

"A sworn affidavit that gives me some indication that these activities we're done," he said. "These individuals are swearing under oath that these activities were done and then we can give appropriate notice to the IRS and New Jersey State Tax Association."

Bleistein said yesterday the city still hasn't provided its usual $5,000 funding for its fall baseball program, which starts in one week.

"There's one particular function, one activity, that was the subject of a federal investigation," Hutchinson said, without naming Babe Ruth.

"Because I don't know what the extent of the federal investigation is or the extent of any -- and I'm not at all indicting the activity or children or administrators of that program -- but simply given the fact that it was raised I simply wasn't comfortable signing off on a recquisition that involved that entity at all," he said.

Under questioning from council, Hutchinson said he believed the city would have to pay any vendors who provided programming for the city, whether or not they had formal or informal contracts.